Leody de Guzman: Let’s tax the rich. Screenshot/KBP Livestream
MANILA, Philippines — The labor leader and presidential aspirant Leody de Guzman said he will implement a 20-percent wealth tax on the 500 richest Filipinos if elected.
De Guzman made the promise during the “Panata sa Bayan” presidential forum hosted by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas on Friday, explaining such a measure would at least decrease inequality or the big gap between the poor and the rich in the country.
“‘To reduce inequality, we need to impose a wealth tax on the rich up to 500 millionaires and billionaires to reduce inequality in our country since it is too far away,” he said in Filipino in his opening presentation.
Using this money, he said, the government can support farmers, create jobs and improve health services.
When asked how he would accomplish the proposal, de Guzman admitted that Congress must approve the bid. Whenever Congress relents, the tax can still be imposed by a people’s initiative.
“Congress should pass them, but if Congress does not do so, then we will use the people’s initiative method to get the approval of the law that imposes a wealth tax on all the rich,” he explained.
With the wealth tax at hand, the labor leader said that the funds would be used to stimulate the economy again.
“Here we will get the funds we need to recover our economy so that we can support our farmers, we will support the health sector and job creation, there we will get mainly, but we still have resources,” he explained.
READ: Leody De Guzman eyes people’s initiative to pass proposed wealth tax
It is not the first time that left-leaning sectors raised the possibility of a wealth tax. In September 2021, the Makabayan bloc in Congress sought a wealth tax for those with over P1 billion of assets.
Under House Bill No. 10253, the super-rich tax would require those with over P1 billion taxable assets to pay one percent of the total amount, those with over P2 billion to pay two percent, and for above P3 billion, three percent.
This amendment to the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, the Makabayan bloc said, would provide the government over P236.7 billion by taxing just the 50 richest Filipinos.
READ: Makabayan bloc wants ‘wealth tax’ for people with over P1-B worth of assets